Toy vehicle



. June 6, 1950 A. w. FRANCIS I TOY VEHICLE Filed April 19, 1946INVENTOR. Albe l VKFPanc'lb". BY 40. :5 Jam HIS ATTORNEY patented June6, 1950 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to toy vehicles, and particularly to toy vehicleshaving a body of die cast metal and Wheel and axle assemblies of someother material secured thereto.

One object of m invention is to provide a novel method and means forsecuring the wheel and axle assemblies of a toy vehicle of the typedescribed to the body of the vehicle.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toy vehicle of the typedescribed having wheel and axle assemblies which can be constructed andsecured to the body of the vehicle at a minimum cost, and which are sorigidly secured in place that they cannot be removed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wheel and axle assemblyfor a vehicle of the type described in which the wheels and axles aredisposed completely within the body lines so that the vehicle has apleasing appearance and does not have any rough surfaces which mightinjure children or scratch or mar furniture while children are playingwith the vehicle.

According to my invention, the axles are constructed of round rods andthe wheels are moulded of any suitable material such as rubber, a phenolcondensation product or the like. The axles are mounted intermediatetheir ends in slots formed in the lower ends of depending lugs castintegral with the body of the vehicle, and are held in place in theslots by forcing the ends of the lugs on opposite sides of the slotstogether in a single operation by a suitable die. The lugs are spacedinwardly from the sides of the body of the vehicle far enough to provideclearance for the Wheels between the lugs and the body, and the wheelsare slipped in place on the ends of the axles before the axles aremounted into the slots.

Other objects and characteristic features of my invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds.

I shall describe one form of toy vehicle embodying my invention, andshall then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevational view showingone form of toy vehicle embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom viewof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating themethod of securing the wheel and axle assemblies to the bodyof thevehicle.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in all three views.

Referring to the drawings, the toy vehicle here shown is an automobilecomprising a body I mounted on front and rear wheel and axle assembliesA and B, respectively.

The body I is of metal and is preferably formed by die casting sincethis method of forming the body enables it to be given intricatecontours and body lines simulating those of a real automobile and at thesame time reduces the cost to a minimum. Any suitable die casting metalmay be employed, but because of its greater durability I prefer to useZinc. In order to conserve metal and reduce weight, the body may be madehollow as shown.

The front and rear wheel and axle assemblies are similar, and eachcomprises two wheels 2 and 3 rotatably mounted on opposite ends of anaxle 4. The wheels may be formed of any suitable material such asmoulded rubber or a phenol condensation product, and are each providedwith a central hole 5 which is sufficiently large to permit the wheel toturn freely on the axle but which is not large enough to permit thewheel to wobble;

The axles 4 are in the form of straight circular metal rods cut to alength which is just slightly less than the width of the inside of thebody for a purpose which will appear presently.

My present invention relates to the means for securing the wheels andaxles to the body I, which? means I shall now describe. As here shown,this means comprises a first pair of transversely aligned lugs 6 and 1provided in their lower ends with aligned slots 6a and la to receive thefront axle, and a second pair of transversely aligned lugs 8 and 9provided in their lower ends with aligned slots 8a and 9a to receive therear axle. The lugs are all cast integral with the body, and are spacedinwardly from the adjacent sides of the body a distance which issufiicient to provide clearance for a wheel between each lug and theadjacent side of the body.

In assembling the wheels and axles to the body, the bod is first placedupside down in a suitable fixture, such as the fixture I9 shown in Fig.3. The wheels are then placed on the ends of the axles 3 and the axlesare placed in the slots Ga Ia and 8a 911, respectively, with one of thewheels disposed between each lug and the adjacent side of the body. Asuitable die II provided with transverse inverted V-shaped grooves 12 isthen lowered into engagement with the upper ends of the lugs withsuflicient force to bend the ends of the lugs on opposite sides of theaxles toward each other to a position in which the axles are firmlysecured within the slots. As is well known, zinc die castings arerelatively brittle and tend to break rather easily when bent. I havefound, however, that if the die I I is lowered into engagement with theupper forked ends of the lugs in a manner to strike the forked ends aquick sharp blow. the necessary bending of the lugs can be effectedwithout any breakage, and the axles will be secured in place so firmlythat it is impossible for a child to dislodge them while playing withthe vehicle.

One advantage of a vehicle constructed in accordance with my inventionis that since the axles are disposed wholly within the body lines theappearance of the vehicle is greatly improved, and there are no rough orsharp protruding parts which might scratch a child as is frequently thecase where the axles extend through the sides of the vehicle and areprovided with upset ends or the like to hold the wheels in place.

Another advantage of a vehicle constructed in accordance with myinvention is that no machining is required on either the wheels oraxles.

A further advantage of a vehicle constructed in accordance with myinvention is that since both the front and rear wheel and axleassemblies are secured in place in a single operation, the cost ofsecuring the wheels and axles to the vehicle is reduced to a minimum.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of toy vehicleembodying my invention, it is understood that various changes andmodifications may be made therein within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit and'scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A toy vehicle comprising a hollow body of metal having formedintegral therewith front and rear pairs of depending lugs, the lugs ofeach pair being in transverse alignment and being provided in theirlower ends with aligned slots and being spaced inwardly from the sidesof the body far enough to provide clearance for a wheel between each lugand the adjacent side of the body, an axle in the form of a straightsmooth rod disposed in each slot and held in place in the slots bybending the ends of the lugs on opposite sides of the slots toward eachother, and a wheel disposed on each axle between each lug and theadjacent side of the body and held in place on the axle solely by thelateral restraining action of the contiguous lug and the adjacent sideof the body.

2. As a new article of manufacture a toy vehicle comprising a body ofdie cast metal supported on wheel and axle assemblies disposed whollywithin the body lines, each said wheel and axle assembly comprising apair of wheels journaled on the opposite ends of a straight smooth roundaxle, the said axles being disposed in slots formed in the lower ends ofdepending lugs cast integral with the body and being held in place inthe slots by bending the ends of the lugs on opposite sides of the slotstoward each other, and the said wheels being held in laterally spacedrelation on the axles solely by being positioned between the axlesupporting lugs and the adjacent sides of the body. 3. The method ofsecuring front and rear wheel and axle assemblies to a toy Vehicle thebody of which is formed of die cast metal, which method consists'incasting pairs of depending lugs on the body adjacent the front and rearends of the body, the lugs of each pair being disposed in lateralalignment and being provided in their lower ends with aligned slots,forming the axles out of around rod cut to a length which is slightlyless than the width of the bod at said lugs, placing a wheel on each-endof each axle and placing the axles in the aligned slots with a wheelbetween each lug and the adjacent side of the body, and thensimultaneously bending the ends of the lugs on opposite sides of theslots toward each other by moving a die into engagement with the lugs.ALBERT 1V. FRANCIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNIW STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 462,500 Miles NOV. 3, 1891 5'71;575Norwood Nov. 17, 1896 1,905,931 Ericson Apr. 25, 1933 2,035,081 LowerMar. 24, 1936 45 2,072,37 Manoil; Mar. 2, 1937 2,284,998 Varney June 2,1942

